Education in a Post-COVID World

Yuval Harari, the author of Sapiens said something very interesting - this pandemic, this Corona is a test for the global integrity. It will determine will we work together for common good, a common goal and if I may say a common enemy. While there are many challenges owing to this pandemic, there history of human evolution has always shown that humans have created new possibilities and opportunities despite the obstacles.

The world economy grew post WWII, the tech companies became better post the dot com bubble bust and world security and air travel increased despite 9/11. The Corona pandemic is bigger shift than any and we would always be on the edge, held hostage by a tiny virus.

Yet amidst the gloom, the marriage of Technology with Education + Health care can work miracles. Strange enough among the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), Health and Education are besides each other at goals 3 and 4 respectively. The growth of one, leads to the growth of another. 

While schools and colleges would remain closed for few weeks to months, the learning should not and cannot stop. This will bring about a hygiene consciousness. Gone are the days when poor canteen food of the school's cafeteria would be tolerated. The cramped classrooms may not be a thing of past, but conscious parents would be skeptical. When schools, were all about competing for numbers, either on marksheets or in student count, the new world of online classes would challenge the norm.

The Key word here is AMBITION. What do the parents want to achieve at the end of the day? I believe Quality Education means different to different people. For most, it means discipline, a reputed school, teachers who give homework and correct spellings. Yet, any successful person would know that quality education means personality development. It means good communication skills, a scientific temper that involves curiosity and research and analytical skills that involves computing and numerical skills. Add social skills through arts, sports and peer learning, this is the recipe of wholesome or holistic education. 

Can such an education be provided without the institution called school? Now more than ever, we are forced to seek answers. 

While the new age of online education has taken roots in the West (why does all new ought to trends to being there..!). Yet Netflix and Elon Musk's Tesla to SpaceX seek skilled people over those university graduates. There are 13 top post in Netflix which are occupied by those who do not have a regular college degree! The new promising trends of Udemy and Ronnie Screwvala Upgrad are doing brisk business. More acceptable leads to more growth. Large corporate and multi nationals are looking beyond mere time spend at college (possibly at canteens) over actual hours spend to complete an online course. This credibility leads to more such open universities and this an upward trend. 

Every book now would be accompanied with an APP, a YouTube channel, Social Media handles. The Education has become more DEMOCRATIC than ever.

This trend has caught the next level of entrance aspirant. It is slowly tickling down to coaching classes. Reliance invested Rs 90 crore in the online education portal Embibe. Started in 2012 by Aditi Avasthi, Embibe helps students prepare for competitive exams including JEE Main, JEE Advanced, NEET, AIIMS, TS-EAMCET, and BITSAT among others. Yet, when Reliance is interested, it's time we took notice too. Else Jio wouldn't have happened!

Will this pyramid scale to school level? With Byju, emerging as a bigger player than anything else in the education, surely it is. You don't get to sponsor the Indian cricket team, appear on the t-shirt of Virat Kohli and have Shah Rukh Khan play with a little kid, and not be a serious contender. So the bandwagon has begin and yes the growth of players will emerge. 

Sharing a personal experience, during the lockdown, I enrolled my daughter into an online Chess coaching class from nurtr.com and the younger one, on German beginners class at Udemy. From the quizzing portal QShala to Viva's Skill SMART LEARNERS series, the new education world is here to stay and grow as our kids are growing. Welcome to the NEW AGE LEARNING.

“The old order changeth yielding place to new And God fulfills himself in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”

 Dawood Vaid, Global Perspective Educator

Golden Sparrow Academy, Nerul, Navi Mumbai